Sweetheart
by Piratesss
Summary: In which Asami surrenders herself to the Triple Threats in order to save Mako's life. E.g. How the infamous maritime sting operation might have played out in the darkest timeline. No one dies; they just wish they did. (The original first chapter of Ruined. The story evolved way beyond what it was meant to be, and the first chapter no longer worked for it.)


Until the two of them got a moment alone, Mako had assumed the wind whipping off the water was the reason Asami had been hugging herself all night. He'd already started unbuttoning his jacket when he realized he should check with her first.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Is anything wrong?"

Asami glanced over her shoulder before speaking. "Mako, I don't feel entirely safe around these guys," she said in an undertone. "They give me a bad feeling. I feel like they'd sooner drag me into a dark alley and violate me than tell me the time."

"I know," Mako said. "They're not the most honorable guys in Republic City. Don't worry, though. Stick close to me, and they shouldn't give you any grief. Remember, they work for us."

"I know," she said. "They just remind me a little of the gangsters who killed my mother."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't think about that."

"It's okay." Asami leaned against the railing. "That was a different gang. The Agni Kais. I've never heard of the Triple Threats raping innocent bystanders and then setting them on fire, so I should be safe. And anyway, if these friends of yours can help me keep my company, I'll personally kiss each one of them!"

He glanced at her to make sure she was joking before he laughed.

"Don't let them hear you say that," Mako warned.

"I won't." Asami stared down at the choppy water. "Thanks for helping me, Mako."

"Of course," he said. "I'm not going to let you lose your company."

She frowned at the water, thinking hard about something.

"Have you talked to your father lately?" Mako asked.

"I've thought about it," Asami said. "He might have good advice on saving the company. But then, it's his fault the company is in dire straits in the first place! I'm so angry with him!" She sighed. "But at the end of the day, I honestly just want him to be proud of me."

"I'm sure he is proud of you," Mako said. "Even if you two disagree on political stuff, I bet he sits in jail missing you. And you're doing a really good job of keeping the company afloat, despite what he did to it."

Asami shrugged. "We'll see how this sting turns out. I have a good feeling about your plan, though."

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Yes. It's a smart idea. Maybe we can catch whoever's been stealing my merchandise. As long as the Triple Threats can hold their own..."

"I wouldn't have hired them if I didn't think they would do a good job," Mako said. "Of all the bending triads, they have the least violent reputation. But I'm sure they'll do a good job keeping both of us safe."

"I trust you," Asami said. "I trust your judgment. And I feel safe when I'm with you, gangsters or not."

She always knew exactly how to make him feel good about himself.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he promised, then quickly added, "Not that you need protecting! I know you can take care of yourself."

She smiled and gave him a friendly peck on the cheek. "I knew what you meant. Thanks."

Mako didn't quite know what to make of the kiss, so he cleared his throat. "I wonder what's taking so long," he said. "Let's check the ship."

Asami followed him, keeping an eye on their rear while Mako peeked around corners and over railings. When they approached where the Triple Threats were chatting in low voices, Mako gestured for Asami to stay back while he crept closer to eavesdrop.

"So how long do we have to stay out here?" Shady Shin was asking.

"I told you, it's gonna be a few hours," Viper replied. "What, do you have a hot date?"

"Actually, I do," Shady Shin said. "And I wanna look my best. I gotta shower and shave. I have a whole routine, okay?"

"Well, your date's gonna have to wait," Viper said.

"She's not gonna be happy about that."

"Too bad," Viper said. "We were paid to keep Mako and that dame distracted for a few hours, so that's what we're gonna do."

Shady Shin sighed. "See, this is why I never get dates."

Mako turned around and tiptoed back to Asami.

"We've been double-crossed," he whispered. "We have to get off this ship."

He grabbed Asami's hand, and they hurried toward the speed boats. They turned the corner and ran right into Viper and two of the other Triple Threats.

"Where do you think you're going?" Viper asked.

Mako tossed a blast of fire at the three gangsters. He pulled Asami in the other direction, only to run smack into Ping and the earthbender.

"Not so fast," Ping said, bending a burst of fire at Mako's face.

Mako barely had time to dodge and bend most of the fire away from him. Asami cried out in pain, and Mako's stomach clenched as he realized he must have accidentally directed some of the fire at her.

"Asami!" Mako glanced over his shoulder to check on her, and something walloped the back of his head.

He came to a few seconds later, lying on his side. Someone kicked him in the ribs, once, twice, three times, and he howled from the pain. He definitely had some broken ribs.

"Stop it!" Asami shouted. "Stop hurting him! Mako!"

Mako opened his eyes a crack. Asami was taking on all four of the benders by herself, dodging and kicking and punching. Her glove lay near Mako. He reached for it, and Shady Shin's polished shoe stomped down on it. Before Mako could react, the shoe raised off the sparking glove and kicked him in the mouth. Mako groaned and spat out an incisor, choking on the blood pooling in his mouth. The foot raised again, and he braced himself for another blow.

"Stop!" Asami ducked and delivered a low-kick to Shady Shin's knee. "Leave him alone!"

Feet crowded around Mako's face, and he knew it was over. Even Asami couldn't take all five of them down at this close range, at least not before one of them got to Mako first.

Asami seemed to realize it the same time as him. She swore and threw herself on top of Mako. Her perfumed body warmed his face through her jacket. One hand cradled his head protectively, while the other covered her own head.

"We got her! Nowhere to run now, sweetcakes!"

Mako flinched as he prepared for the Triple Threats to kick him and Asami both.

"Hey, hey!" Viper shouted over the din. "Stop! Do not kick the dame! What's wrong with you? Do you want to look at a black eye or a busted lip while you're delivering the goods? Because I sure don't."

"Asami," Mako croaked. "Run."

"I'm not leaving you, Mako."

"You have to-"

There was a whoosh, and Mako's coat grew damp as two water whips enveloped Asami's hands.

"Let go of me!"

Asami struggled against the water, but she didn't stand a chance against both waterbenders at the same time. They dragged her away from Mako, the toes of her boots squeaking against the polished wooden deck, and they held her in front of Shady Shin and the two waterbenders. Ping and the earthbender tied up Mako, who was too weak to put up much of a fight.

"Looks like we've been made," Viper said. "Guess we might as well have that fun we've been talking about all night, huh boys?" He yanked Asami's jacket open, sending buttons plinking across the deck. "Who's got a knife?"

"Right here, boss." Shady Shin held up an ten-inch blade. "Hold still, sister. I don't wanna cut those perfect breasts."

Asami just glared at him as he slid the knife under the neck of her dress and sliced it open to her waist. He repeated the process on her slip, followed by her brassiere. She tugged on the water holding her in place, but it held strong as ice.

"Cute little tits," Viper said, ripping the fabric further apart to expose her. "Tie her up so we can still see them."

The Triple Threats had tied Mako's feet together and his hands behind his back, but they tied Asami's hands and arms at her sides, coiling the rope around and around her. The top of the ropes stopped just below her breasts.

"Much better," Viper said. "Search her, just to be safe."

Shady Shin and the other waterbender knocked Asami onto her back and patted her down so thoroughly Mako had to look away until they were done.

"Kitten's packing heat," Shady Shin announced, removing a small, dainty pistol from Asami's thigh.

Ping pulled Asami's boots off, and a knife clattered from the right one onto the deck. "Wow, you weren't playing around, were you, Ms. Sato?"

Asami set her jaw and refused to answer.

Viper squatted down so he could look into her face. "You're a smart girl," he said. "You probably have a dozen different escape routes figured out. You must know what me and my boys are after. Is that about right?"

Asami pursed her lips. "So what if it is?"

"Then you're smart enough to know better than to try to take on the five of us by yourself." He laughed at Asami's defiant stare. "Okay, so maybe you could take us if you really tried. But what about Mako?" He grasped her chin and forced her to stare at Mako. "I know you still carry a torch for him. So you just do what we tell you, and the two of you will still be alive to sort out your dirty laundry when we're done with you."

"And if I don't do what you tell me?"

"Well, we were given very explicit orders not to seriously hurt you," Viper said, taking off his hat and handing it to the other waterbender. "But our employer was strangely silent about whether or not we could hurt Mako. In fact, it kinda sounded like we'd be doing the boss a favor if we bumped Mako off."

"I thought Mako was your friend."

"He's a snitch," Ping said.

"He's worse than a snitch," Viper said. "He's a cop. Him and his brother double-crossed the Triple Threats a few years back. So don't think we have any reservations about killing him, 'cause we don't. We clear?"

"Crystal," Asami said.

"Good."

Viper pushed her skirt up, revealing a garter belt hidden under a pair of short, lacy white drawers. He stuck his fingers under the waistband of the bloomers and easily tore the thin cotton from the hip. He tried to open her knees, but Asami's whole body tensed. She locked her knees together more tightly.

"Why are you playing so hard to get, sister?" Shady Shin asked. "We know you've skated around with half the men in the pro-bending world."

"And a few of the women, too," the earthbender added.

"That's not even true," Asami said.

"Who cares?" Viper said. "Spread 'em, or else."

"I... can't," Asami said through chattering teeth.

"Sure you can," Viper said.

"No, I physically can't." The distress in Asami's voice would have been bad enough, but she was shivering violently to boot.

"Leave her alone," Mako rasped, trying to raise his head.

They all ignored him.

"Ping, the lady looks cold," Viper said. "Why don't you unfreeze her?"

"Come on, Ms. Sato." Ping wedged his fingers between her knees. "You of all people should know that a nonbender is gonna lose if she goes up against a firebender. Open up."

Asami's thigh muscles quivered. "I can't," she repeated, sounding slightly panicked.

Ping sighed. "Suit yourself."

His hands immolated. Asami screamed, kicking her legs frantically to get them away from the flames.

"Asami!" Mako reached for her weakly.

The fire extinguished as quickly as it had started, leaving Asami gasping and sobbing in relief. Shiny pink blisters patched the new holes in her stockings, the edges still curling with smoke.

"See, that wasn't so hard," Ping said, scooting to the side.

Viper shoved his hands between her legs, and Asami yelped, kneeing him weakly in the chest.

"She's dry as a bone," Viper grumbled. "Two-Toed Ping, since you got her to spread her legs, do you wanna do the honors?"

"Oh, definitely, definitely," Ping said. "You're gonna like this, sweetheart. I'm the best pearl-diver this side of the Great Divide."

Two-Toed Ping licked her with all the sloppy enthusiasm of Naga. Asami shuddered. From the look on her face, they might as well have been dragging a sea slug across her most intimate places.

"I think that's enough," Viper finally said. "I'm just trying to avoid friction burns here. You can do whatever you want to her during your turn."

Viper tucked his arms under Asami's legs and leaned onto her, forcing her knees into her chest.

"I can't breathe," Asami panted.

Viper eased back, letting her gulp down air and adjust her legs into a more comfortable position. "Better?"

"What do you care?"

He smirked. "Believe it or not, we ain't doing this to hurt you."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"Mostly for fun," Viper said. "If there's a better way to pass the time than by getting laid, I never tried it."

"I'm doing it because I had to stand up a hot date," Shady Shin said.

"Honestly, doll, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Viper said.

"With the wrong guy," Two-Toed Ping added.

"Yeah, mostly that," Viper agreed. "Of course, if you hadn't had a reputation already, we probably wouldn't have actually done this."

"I doubt that," Asami said.

"Well, we might have felt bad about it, at least."

She glared into Viper's face. Her eyes, normally sweet and calm, were so fierce that even Mako was a little scared of her.

The earthbender kicked Mako in the ribs just then. The pain combined with watching Viper humping away on top of Asami was too much. Mako puked up his dinner, only vaguely aware of Asami's voice.

"Stop! What did you do to him? Don't hurt him! Please, I'm cooperating!"

"Don't you worry about him," Viper said, gripping her face. "You focus right here on me, baby."

Mako was distracted by another puking episode. When he settled back against the deck, Viper had found his rhythm, and Asami's eyes were shut tight. Even though she wasn't saying a word, her breathing gave away her pain. She would hold her breath as long as possible, only to blow out and then suck in a quick breath and repeat the process. Mako counted nine thrusts between breaths, then eleven, then seven. It reminded him of the meditation technique Tenzin had taught all of them months ago, back when things had been happy and good.

Mako tested the ropes on his wrists and ankles. They were so tight they were almost cutting off his circulation. He tried to firebend the ropes on his wrists, but he couldn't quite get the right angle. He fell back against the hard deck, puffing in frustration. He tried to think about police work, probending, basically anything other than Viper's grunts. If Mako let himself put too much thought into what was happening, he would start dry-heaving.

"Oh, that was great," Viper sighed at last, pushing himself up. "Don't worry boys. She's still plenty tight. She's got muscles like a vice. Who's next? Shady Shin?"

"I don't want nobody's sloppy seconds," Shady Shin said.

"I guess we should clean her out between turns, huh?"

Viper directed a thick stream of water straight under Asami's skirt, making her yelp and try to close her legs. He held her ankles apart with another two shiny tendrils.

"Your girlfriend's really uppity for a nonbender, Mako," Viper commented, thrusting the water whip inside Asami a few times. "Glad we're here to teach her a lesson. Somebody ought to."

Asami's face was completely blank, her eyes and mouth closed but relaxed. Good for her, Mako thought.

"There you go," Viper said. "She should be all cleaned out for you."

Shady Shin shook his head. "I don't care how good you clean her out," he said. "I got other plans."

"Suit yourself."

Shady Shin knelt down, standing on his knees over Asami. "I've heard all about you."

"What do they say about me?" Asami asked.

"They say you're a regular face-artist. I wanna see if you live up to the stories." He rubbed himself over her cheek. "Come on, open your mouth."

Asami kept her lips pressed firmly together.

Shady Shin cleared his throat loudly. "Say, Ping, how about you teach Ms. Sato here a lesson on her boyfriend's face? I hear Lord Zuko's look is in style this season."

"No, wait!" Asami half-rose off the deck. "Please don't hurt him."

"Don't, Asami!" Mako yelled. "Just let them-" He broke off in a wheeze as a foot jammed into his kidney.

"Be quiet, Mako," Asami snapped. "It's not a big deal. Not worth anyone getting hurt, at least."

"Smart girl." Shady Shin grasped Asami's hair and pushed himself into her open mouth. "Must be hard, always having to save your boyfriend's- hey!" He pulled out and slapped her face. "No biting!"

"I wasn't," Asami said in a low, deadly voice. "You grazed yourself on my teeth. I can't stop you from doing that."

"I don't care," Shady Shin said. "Keep your teeth away from my hose. Do you understand?"

Asami's nostrils flared. "Yes."

Mako watched the muscles in Asami's neck strain, wishing he could just throw himself overboard to spare her this indignity. Her eyes were closed again, which was probably for the best. The others had circled around the scene, and most of them were warming up for their own turns. Mako scowled. Even with his eyes closed, he couldn't block out the obscene squelching and sucking noises. Poor Asami, he thought. She wouldn't be working this hard to protect him if he knew how badly he'd already let her down. His chest tightened at the thought of her face when she figured it out.

Presently, Shady Shin wrapped his hand around Asami's throat when she coughed and gagged.

"Good girl," he cooed at her like she was a pet. "That's a good girl. Swallow it all down."

Mako grimaced and looked away again. He would make this up to Asami, if it was the last thing he did.

"Get her some water," Shady Shin said, tossing Asami onto her back. "And Ping, go for it."

"Oh goody," Ping said, undoing his pants. "My turn."

The other waterbender channeled a few swallows into Asami's mouth. She gulped the water down and seemed disappointed that there wasn't more. Before she could request seconds, though, Ping was dropping to his knees and then falling over her, catching himself with his palms just before he smacked her face with his.

"I've been waiting for my turn all night," Ping said. "You're so pretty. I wanna make you feel so good you sing like a canary."

That seemed to spark an idea for Asami, although she had a good enough poker face that only Mako seemed to notice.

"Please don't do this, Ping." Asami sniffed and stuck out her lower lip, giving him the saddest puppy dog face Mako had ever seen. "I really felt like we had a connection. Please don't do this to me."

Ping hesitated for a second. "I'll be gentle," he said finally, leaning in to try to kiss her.

"No." She made a sobbing sound and turned her head so that he kissed her ear instead. "Stop, please, Ping. You're hurting me."

"Come on," Ping said, licking her tears off her face. "Stop crying, Asami."

"Don't!" She wiped her face on her shoulder, careful to keep her eye makeup intact. "Please, Ping. It hurts already, and you're barely even inside me. Please, don't do this to me, please..."

"Just do it," Shady Shin goaded. "What are you, a man or a baby?"

"Yeah," the other waterbender added. "Show her you're a man! You have to make her want it, Ping!"

Ping nodded, a determined look on his face. He smooched on Asami's face and neck while she wept loudly.

"No, please, no," she whimpered. "Ping, please. You're really hurting me. I thought we were friends, Ping! I thought you liked me."

After a few moments, Ping finally slumped on top of her. "Sorry, boys, I don't think I can do it."

Viper rolled his eyes and knelt back down by Asami.

"Listen, doll, we don't want to hurt you any more than we have to. I'd wager that's a common interest, yeah?"

Asami nodded.

"Good. So here's what's gonna happen." He got down on his hands and knees and whispered something in her ear. After a minute, he leaned back and waited for her answer.

Asami sneered at him. "You want me to do what? No way!"

He sighed and leaned back down. Mako raised his head when he caught his name. Whatever the context was, it must have been grim, because Asami's eyes widened as she glanced at Mako. Viper finished and sat back on his heels.

"Deal?" he asked.

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll do it."

"Good girl."

"Do what?" Ping asked.

Asami cleared her throat and wet her lips before responding.

"Ping?" she said.

"Yes?"

"I changed my mind. It's okay if you want to make love to me now."

"Really?" he asked, looking like she'd just handed him a million yuans.

"Yes," she said. "But I want it to be special. Will you do that for me?"

"Yes, yes," he said eagerly. "I want to make you feel good."

"Would you please lick me again?" she asked. "It made me feel so good last time."

His head was between her legs before she finished her sentence. Asami moaned loudly and theatrically, her feet wiggling into Ping's sides.

"Oh, yeah," she sighed. "That feels so good, Ping. Oh, oh yes!"

He emerged from under her skirt after just a few minutes. "How's that?" he asked.

"It's great," she said. "But now I want you inside me so badly, Ping."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Please make love to me, Ping."

"Well, I never say no when a lady asks for that," Ping said.

He lay flat on Asami, and she wrapped her legs around him, singed stockings and all.

"Oh, yeah," she sighed. "Oh, yeah, it feels so good. Harder, Ping."

"Oh, your heater is nice and tight," he murmured. "Just like Viper said." He pressed his face into her bosom.

"Ow!" she said. "What are you doing?"

"Just leaving some love bites," he said. "I want to give you something to remember me by."

"Why don't you kiss me on my mouth instead?" Asami suggested.

"Sure!" Ping forced his mouth onto hers, making noisy slurping sounds as he kissed her.

Mako could see the revulsion on Asami's face from yards away. She made a noble effort to kiss Ping back, despite her obvious disgust.

"You having a good time, baby?" Ping asked.

"Oh, yes." Asami kissed his cheek, then his ear. "Oh, Ping..."

"Tell me about Avatar Korra," he said. "Do you two have girly sleepovers?"

"Absolutely," Asami said into his ear. "But it wouldn't be ladylike to talk about what happens at them. It's pretty scandalous."

"Aw," Ping said. "Come on, tell me! Give me a hint! Is there kissing?"

"Mmhmm," Asami said. "And not just on the mouth."

"Ohhh." Ping stopped his rocking for a few seconds. "Fingers?"

"Naturally. We girls know how to please each other without even trying." Asami stared into Ping's face, as if gauging his reaction. "But most of the time, we just do girly makeover things, like playing with each other's feet."

Even Mako noticed Ping's reaction to that.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, breathing hard and fast despite moving gently.

"Yeah," Asami said. "Foot rubs... pedicures... we paint each other's toenails all the time."

"Oh, sweetheart." He bucked on top of her faster. "Tell me more."

"We take baths together sometimes," Asami said. "Help each other clean up after a hard fight. Rub each other down so we're not sore later."

The rest of the Triple Threats leaned in closer to hear Asami's story.

"It's true, we, uh..." Asami appeared to be searching for more material. "We have to get all soapy and massage each other's arms, legs, backs, ribs... feet..."

Ping sighed and once again sucked ugly bruises onto Asami's neck and bosom. She moaned so loudly his ears had to be buzzing.

"Let me tell you," Asami said, "when the Avatar asks you to lick her, you pretty much have to do it, whether she wants your tongue on her pussy... or between her toes..."

Ping was moving like driftwood in a hurricane. The rest of the gangsters were all stroking themselves again, even Viper and Shady Shin.

"You like that, baby?" Ping asked into Asami's neck.

"Oh, yes, Ping!" She threw her head back. "Oh, Ping, you're going to make me, ah... ah... ahh!"

Despite the obvious fakeness, Mako felt his pants grew slightly tighter. Ping, apparently, enjoyed it even more. He deflated on top of Asami, still kissing and nuzzling her breasts.

"I knew you'd like it," Ping said. "I even gave you a thrill. A nice big one."

"Yes, thank you," Asami said.

The light caught on tears Mako hadn't noticed before, shining like crystals in the corners of her eyes. She blinked, and the droplets trailed into her hair.

"All right," the waterbender said. "Get off of her so I can have my turn."

Ping rolled off Asami and lay on his back on the deck. He tucked his arms under his head and sighed up at the dark purple sky.

The waterbender repeated the "cleaning" process Viper had demonstrated, although this one seemed to get more of a sadistic kick out of using his bending to assault a helpless nonbender. Asami lay as still as a corpse, only the rise and fall of her chest assuring Mako that she was still breathing.

"Aw, you're no fun," the waterbender said, finally dispatching with the water. He positioned himself on top of Asami, but then sat back up just a few seconds later.

"What's the matter?" Viper teased. "Can't get it up like Ping?"

"No," the waterbender said. "She's dry." He straightened up, spat on his hand a few times, and shoved his wet fingers into Asami. Satisfied with his foreplay efforts, he crashed back on top of her.

"How can she be dry after all that waterbending?"

"It's just different, okay?" the waterbender said.

"Hey, I wouldn't know," Viper said. "She's the first dame I've ever thought to try that move on."

"Really?" the waterbender grunted. "It's my favorite way to put nonbender gals in their place. Did I tell you that was how I finally got the protection money out of the Lings? You know that pretty little daughter of theirs?" He glanced at Asami's disgusted expression and laughed. "Oh, come off it, sweetheart. Don't act like I'm the fast one when you've taken on four of us in the past hour."

"At least I've never forced anyone," Asami said. "I've never had to. But I can see why you would."

The other Triple Threats "oooohed" at the insult and looked to the waterbender for his retort. He just laughed.

"Babe, you're tied up and at my cock's mercy. I'm pretty sure I win."

Asami bit her lip and turned her head, but he grabbed her by the jaw and forced her to look back at him.

"Hey, don't look away from me when I'm talking to you. I want you to look me right in the eye while I'm inside you."

She scowled as he pinched her nipples. He twisted and pulled them until Asami finally winced and cried out.

"I didn't realize keeping these two distracted would be this much fun," he said. "Not that I'm complaining..."

"Wait, what?" Asami queried. "Keeping us distracted?"

"Yeah, that's what we're getting paid to do," the waterbender said. "I love this job."

"Distracting us from what?" Asami demanded. "Who hired you?"

"That's enough," Viper said. "Our clients' privacy is very important. We never kiss and tell."

"Speak for yourself," Ping said, sitting up at last. "I'm gonna tell everyone I know I made love to Asami Sato."

Mako watched Asami's expression as she processed their words.

"Oh no," she finally whispered. "No, no, no. My factory..." She looked over at Mako, as if begging him to tell her she was wrong.

Mako lowered his eyes, his shoulders hunching around his ears.

"No, this can't be happening." Asami arched her neck, swallowing hard. "No, please, not my company!"

"Just be glad you and your boyfriend ain't gonna be sleeping with the fishes," Shady Shin said.

The waterbender flicked Asami's nipple, hard, until she squirmed. "Hey, if she gets pregnant from this, which one of us do you think is gonna be the father?"

"Doesn't matter," Viper said. "If we all vouch that we saw each other doing it with her, no judge in the world will make any of us pay child support."

Asami sniffled, prompting Ping to pet her hair.

"Don't you worry, Asami," Ping said. "If you end up in the family way, I'll take good care of you."

"Can you imagine?" The waterbender smirked. "I bet we'll see her in a few months with a nice big baby belly. I bet the baby would probably be a bender, too. What do you think, Asami, baby? Wouldn't that be fun?"

He bit down on Asami's nipple. She let out a tiny sob, her stockinged toes trying to dig into the wooden deck.

"What?" he asked. "Did that hurt?"

She nodded, still crying silently. She wasn't crying to gain sympathy this time; Mako could tell because she'd stopped trying to preserve her eye makeup. Swirls of gray eyeliner dripped down her cheeks and into her ears, painting murky rivers on her skin like watercolors on parchment. Mako wished more than anything else in the world that he could kill the Triple Threats and then hold Asami until she was okay again.

"Tell me it hurts," the waterbender said, sinking his teeth into her other breast.

"It hurts," she whispered. "Please stop."

He spasmed on top of her at that. "Oh, oh yeah..." he breathed into her neck. "Oh man, I love when they beg me to stop."

Asami swallowed her tears. "There's something wrong with you."

"I know," he laughed, crawling off of her. "Normally I can hold out way longer than that."

"Don't feel too bad," Viper said. "I told you, she's like a vice."

"Not when I get done with her." The earthbender dropped on top of Asami without waiting for the almost ritualistic waterbending cleansing.

"Yeah, sorry you had to go last, but it just wouldn't be fair otherwise," Shady Shin said.

"I'm used to it," he grunted, shoving into Asami.

Her eyes opened, and she screamed like she'd been wounded.

"Asami!" Mako struggled to sit up and almost blacked out from the pain. His temple smacked the wooden deck as he collapsed onto it.

"Ow, ow!" Asami's back arched off the deck as she tried to kick herself away from her attacker. There was no more fierceness, no more quiet dignity, just her whole body trying to writhe away from the source of so much pain. "Stop, please! It's too much! Ow!"

Mako briefly considered setting himself on fire; if nothing else, maybe he could distract the Triple Threats while Asami escaped. He didn't think she would leave without him, unfortunately, even if she managed to escape with her arms bound. He was tempted to set himself on fire anyway, just so he wouldn't have to listen to her scream and cry like she was being tortured. But that would render Asami's sacrifice absolutely pointless, and Mako couldn't bring himself to do that to her. Not after she'd gone through this entire ordeal to save his life.

"He's kind of on the big side, huh?" Viper asked in his most gratingly condescending tone.

"Oh, please, make him stop!" Asami sobbed. "Oh! Ow! Please, I'll do anything. Someone, Ping, please help me! Please... please... it hurts so badly! Please!"

Ping cleared his throat. "Uh, I'm gonna take a smoke break," he said, lighting a cigarette with his fingers and disappearing around the corner.

"Oh, please!" Smoky tears forked from Asami's wet eyeliner to her chin, contrasting against her pink cheeks. "I'm going to be sick. Please stop."

Mako rolled onto his belly and slithered across the deck like a snake, ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in his ribs.

Meanwhile, the earthbender tucked each of Asami's legs under one of his arms, crushing them against his sides. She kicked her legs in vain, crying harder than Mako had ever witnessed.

"I'm really going to be sick," she warned.

"Who cares?" Viper asked. "This isn't our ship. Just turn your head."

Asami raised her head up and craned it to the side just in time to retch all over the wooden deck, the side opposite Mako. The gangsters laughed at her, and Shady Shin knelt down to hold her hair out of the way while she was sick.

"Please," she begged. "It hurts so badly. I think I might be injured."

They outright chuckled at that.

"A sex injury?" Viper scoffed. "No such thing."

Asami heaved again, her ribs contorting as she tried to lean over far enough to miss her clothes.

"I don't know," Shady Shin said. "Maybe she's right. What's with all the blood down there?"

"Who knows? It's probably just a female thing."

"Yeah," Shady Shin said. "Man, when you said you wanted to tear that pussy up, I didn't think you meant literally."

"I'm a very literal guy," the earthbender said.

Asami's chin quivered. "Please, make him stop. I can't take it anymore. Please, please, please. Anyone! Please make him stop."

At that exact moment, Mako threw himself onto his side, his back to Asami, and exhaled as hard as his lungs would allow. The familiar heat burst from his hands, prompting a howl from the earthbender.

And then someone was grabbing him, yanking him off the deck and slamming his face into the metal railing. As he lost consciousness, he heard Asami screaming his name.


End file.
